Cells, tumor

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Bioluminescence in vitro chemosensitivity assays are now used to assess the sensitivity of tumor cells (obtained by surgical or needle biopsy) to different dmgs and combinations of dmgs. Cells are grown in microwell plates in the presence of the dmgs at various concentrations. If the tumor cells are sensitive to the dmg then they do not grow, hence total extracted cellular ATP, measured using the bioluminescence firefly luciferase reaction, is low. This method has been used to optimize therapy for different soHd tumors and for leukemias (306). 

The streptovaricins inhibit the reverse transcriptase of some RNA oncogenic vimses that may be involved in the process of viral transformation (see Antiviral agents). The atropisostreptovaricins again have similar activities to the corresponding natural isomers. The streptovals and streptovarone exhibit gready improved activity against reverse transcriptase relative to the streptovaricins (85), but their in vitro activities were low (86). The damavaricins also inhibit reverse transcriptase (4) as well as tumor cell growth (87). 

Phosphorothioates generally protect normal tissues more than tumors. Tumor protection reported in some animal studies can pardy be explained by physiological effects of the particular dmgs, which are specific to rodents (4). WR-2721 does not appear to protect human and most animal tumors, apparentiy because of the low availabiUty of the dmg to tumor cells (4). Many tumors appear to have a reduced capillary density (44), which may mean that these tumors have altered levels of alkaline phosphatase, the enzyme that converts WR-2721 to WR-1065. A reduced abiUty of thiols to protect the hypoxic cells characteristic of many tumors may also contribute to their selectivity for normal tissues. The observation that WR-1065 protects cultured normal human fibroblasts, but not fibrosarcoma tumor cells, suggests that additional factors may contribute to the selectivity of radioprotection by WR-2721 m vivo (18). 

Whereas epidermal growth factor (EGF) enhances the radiosensitivity of human squamous ceU carcinoma cells in vitro (197), addition of EGF to hormone-deprived MCE-7 breast cancer cells prior to irradiation results ia iacreased radioresistance (198). An anti-EGE-receptor monoclonal antibody blocks the abiUty of EGE to enhance growth and radioresistance. Tumor cells, the growth of which is stimulated by EGE, appear to be protected those where growth is iohibited are sensitized (198). 

A 2-h incubation with another PGE2 analogue, nocloprost (9P-chloro-DMPG) protects normal human fibroblasts but has no effect on the survival of colon adenocarcinoma cells exposed to 10 Gy (1000 rad) (218). Nocloprost protects against radiation-induced DSBs in normal cells but not in tumor cells. Moreover, incubation using nocloprost for 2 h after irradiation enhances the rate of DSB rejoining in fibroblasts but not in adenocarcinoma cells. These data possibly reflect a different distribution of PG receptors on the plasma membrane of the two cell types. 

Because the cytotoxic effects of the energetic lithium-7 and alpha particles are spaciaHy limited to a range of only about one-ceU diameter, the destmctive effects are confined to only one or two cells near the site of the event. Thus BNCT involves the selective deUvery of sufficiendy high concentrations of B-containing compounds to tumor sites followed by the irradiation of these sites with a beam of relatively nondestmctive thermal neutrons. The resulting cytotoxic reaction can then in theory destroy the tumor cells that are intimately associated with B target. 

It has been estimated that using available neutron intensities such as 10 neutrons/(cm -s) concentrations of B from 10—30 lg/g of tumor with a tumor cell to normal cell selectivity of at least five are necessary for BNCT to be practical. Hence the challenge of BNCT ties in the development of practical means for the selective deUvery of approximately 10 B atoms to each tumor cell for effective therapy using short neutron irradiation times. Derivatives of B-enriched /oj o-borane anions and carboranes appear to be especially suitable for BNCT because of their high concentration of B and favorable hydrolytic stabiUties under physiological conditions. 

Research and clinical experience on dmg resistance suggests that tumor cells are particularly adept at genetic selections leading to alterations in the stmcture, function, or synthesis of proteins involved in the antitumor dmg action and detoxification. Multiple mechanisms of resistance have been shown to account for the resistance seen in the clinic (46). 

A different kind of enzyme, translocase [80700-39-6], which transfers a fragment of NAD to the protein—synthesis factor (elongation factor 2), is catalyzed by diphtheria toxin, thereby inhibiting protein synthesis (43). In tumor cells, the rate of protein synthesis is 100 to 1000 times more sensitive to diphtheria toxin than the analogous process in normal cells (41) therefore, diphtheria toxin is selectively toxic to tumor cells. 

A protein with the innocuous name p53 is one of the most frequently cited biological molecules in the Science Citation Index. The "p" in p53 stands for protein and "53" indicates a molecular mass of 53 kDa. The p53 protein plays a fundamental role in human cell growth and mutations in this protein are frequently associated with the formation of tumors. It is estimated that of the 6.5 million people diagnosed with one or another form of cancer each year about half have p53 mutations in their tumor cells and that the vast majority of these mutations are single point mutations. 

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